Welcome to Tableau Desktop
We're excited to have you
The steps and resources below will help you become proficient in Tableau.
What's Tableau Desktop?
Before we dive into the content below, let's do quick overview of what Tableau Desktop is. With Tableau Desktop, you can connect to a variety of data sources and start visualizing data.
See Tableau Desktop in ActionOrient yourself

Get yourself familiar with the Tableau interface so you can find your way around.
Watch: Tour the Tableau Interface
Dive deeper: The Tableau Workspace
Connect to data

Tableau Desktop connects to a variety of data sources. Learn how to connect to data with these resources.
Watch: Connect to Data
Additional reading: Connecting to a specific data source
Prep your data
If you're having trouble getting your data into Tableau Desktop, you may need to do some data prep before it's analysis-ready. Use Tableau Prep to combine, clean, or shape your data then output it to Tableau Desktop for analysis. The flexible, visual experience of Tableau Prep gives you a deeper understanding of your data. It makes common, yet complex tasks like joins, unions, pivots and aggregations simple and visual. With your Creator license, you get access to Tableau Prep.
Prep learning resourcesBuild a data visualization

Now that you've connected to data, it’s time to start building a data visualization (viz for short) in Tableau so you can see your data up close.
Watch: Build a Visualization
Additional reading: Viz Building Basics
Learn how the 'Show Me' menu can help you.
Refine your visualization
Build a map

Getting your location data on a map is easy as dragging and dropping. Learn how to see your geographic data in a map in Tableau with these resources.
Watch: Build a Map
Deeper reading: Build and Use Maps
Combine views into a dashboard
Combine multiple views into a single, interactive dashboard. Include filters, images, and webpages in your dashboard for a more complete view of your data.
Watch: Build a Dashboard
Watch NowShare and collaborate

Don't keep your insights to yourself - share them with your colleagues. Tableau Server or Tableau Online allows you to publish visualizations and dashboards to the web so others can interact with your analytics and answer their own questions of the data.
Join the community of Tableau fans

The community of Tableau users can’t wait to meet you. Network, ask questions, share ideas, and hear what’s coming next.
- Join the Tableau Community
- Follow us on Twitter
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on LinkedIn